Electricity and New Energy

Digital Servo Motor Control

Courseware Sample
86197-F0
Order no.: 86197-10
First Edition
Revision level: 08/2015

By the staff of Festo Didactic

© Festo Didactic Ltée/Ltd, Quebec, Canada 2010

Internet: www.festo-didactic.com
e-mail: did@de.festo.com

Printed in Canada
All rights reserved
ISBN 978-2-89640-392-9 (Printed version)
ISBN 978-2-89747-334-1 (CD-ROM)
Legal Deposit – Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, 2010
Legal Deposit – Library and Archives Canada, 2010

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 Safety and Common Symbols
The following safety and common symbols may be used in this manual and on
the equipment:

Symbol Description

DANGER indicates a hazard with a high level of risk which, if not

avoided, will result in death or serious injury.

WARNING indicates a hazard with a medium level of risk which,

if not avoided, could result in death or serious injury.

CAUTION indicates a hazard with a low level of risk which, if not

avoided, could result in minor or moderate injury.

CAUTION used without the Caution, risk of danger sign ,

indicates a hazard with a potentially hazardous situation which,
if not avoided, may result in property damage.

Caution, risk of electric shock

Caution, hot surface

Caution, risk of danger

Caution, lifting hazard

Caution, hand entanglement hazard

Notice, non-ionizing radiation

Direct current

Alternating current

Both direct and alternating current

Three-phase alternating current

Earth (ground) terminal

© Festo Didactic 86197-10 III

 Safety and Common Symbols

Symbol Description

Protective conductor terminal

Frame or chassis terminal

Equipotentiality

On (supply)

Off (supply)

Equipment protected throughout by double insulation or

reinforced insulation

In position of a bi-stable push control

Out position of a bi-stable push control

IV © Festo Didactic 86197-10

 Table of Contents
Preface .................................................................................................................. IX 
To the Instructor .................................................................................................... XI 

Exercise 1  Equipment and Software Familiarization........................ 1 

DISCUSSION .................................................................................... 1 
Servo system hardware .......................................................... 1 
Servo system software ........................................................... 1 
PROCEDURE ................................................................................... 2 
Basic setup ............................................................................. 2 
Hardware familiarization ......................................................... 3 
Software familiarization .......................................................... 7 

Exercise 2  Open Loop Servo Motor Static Characteristics ........... 17 

DISCUSSION .................................................................................. 17 
Introduction to the functioning of the Digital Servo ............... 17 
Components and variables of a servo motor........................ 18 
Open loop control vs. closed loop control ............................ 19 
Steady state analysis of a dc servo motor............................ 20 
Calculating the motor steady state speed constant ............. 21 
Example ......................................................................... 21 
PROCEDURE ................................................................................. 22 
Setup and connections ......................................................... 22 
Viscous friction coefficient .................................................... 24 
Steady state speed constant ................................................ 25 

Exercise 3  Open Loop Servo Motor Transient Characteristics ..... 31 

DISCUSSION .................................................................................. 31 
Motor steady state and transient response .......................... 31 
Servo motor steady state and dynamic characteristics ........ 32 
Servo motor transient response ........................................... 32 
Significance of the transient response equation .................. 33 
Example ......................................................................... 34 
PROCEDURE ................................................................................. 38 
Setup and connections ......................................................... 38 
Calculating the time constant ............................................... 38 
Measuring the time constant ................................................ 40 

© Festo Didactic 86197-10 V

 Table of Contents

Exercise 4  Servo Closed Loop Speed Control – Steady State

Characteristics ................................................................ 47 
DISCUSSION .................................................................................. 47 
Components of the Digital Servo operating under closed
loop speed control ................................................................ 47 
Sensor and power amplifier gain .......................................... 48 
PROCEDURE ................................................................................. 49 
Setup and connections ......................................................... 49 
Closed loop speed-control measurements ........................... 51 

Exercise 5  Servo Closed Loop Speed Control – Transient

Characteristics and Disturbances................................. 57 
DISCUSSION .................................................................................. 57 
Response to changes in the reference speed ...................... 57 
Effect of disturbances ........................................................... 59 
PROCEDURE ................................................................................. 61 
Setup and connections ......................................................... 61 
Step response data acquisition ............................................ 62 
Time constant approximation ............................................... 63 
Time constant approximation method ............................ 63 
Time constant approximation example .......................... 64 
Observing the effects of load disturbances .......................... 67 
Servo system oscillation ....................................................... 70 

Exercise 6  Motor Shaft Angular Position Control .......................... 73 

DISCUSSION .................................................................................. 73 
Angular position control block diagram and fundamentals ... 73 
Angular position control system equations ........................... 75 
Damping fundamentals......................................................... 76 
Damping ratio cases analysis ............................................... 77 
Case 1 ............................................................................ 77 
Case 2 ............................................................................ 77 
Case 3 ............................................................................ 78 
Digital Servo damping ratio and damped frequency ............ 79 
The PID controller ................................................................. 80 
Servo-system manual tuning ................................................ 81 

VI © Festo Didactic 86197-10

 Table of Contents

PROCEDURE ................................................................................. 83 

Setup and connections ......................................................... 83 
Effect of the proportional gain on the step response............ 84 
Tuning the controller with the Ziegler-Nichols method ......... 88 
Quarter amplitude decay step response .............................. 91 
Significantly damped step response..................................... 94 

Exercise 7  Linear Position Sensing ............................................... 101 

DISCUSSION ................................................................................ 101 
Position sensing ................................................................. 101 
Simplified incremental shaft encoder ................................. 101 
The Digital Servo incremental encoders ............................ 103 
PROCEDURE ............................................................................... 104 
Setup and connections ....................................................... 104 
Count totals of a complete platform travel for both
incremental encoders ......................................................... 105 
Platform position reference................................................. 108 
Platform movement for both incremental encoders ........... 109 

Exercise 8  Linear Position Control ................................................ 113 

DISCUSSION ................................................................................ 113 
Linear position control block diagram and fundamentals ... 113 
Proportional, integral, and derivative action on a linear
position control system ....................................................... 115 
PROCEDURE ............................................................................... 118 
Setup and connections ....................................................... 118 
Tuning the controller with the Ziegler-Nichols method ....... 120 
Quarter amplitude decay step response ............................ 122 
Significantly damped step response................................... 124 
Motor shaft incremental encoder step response ................ 127 
Unloaded platform step response ...................................... 130 

Exercise 9  Following Error in a Linear Position Control System 135 

DISCUSSION ................................................................................ 135 
PID controller output with triangular ramp error ................. 135 
Following error .................................................................... 136 
Tuning the PID controller to minimize the following error ... 137 

© Festo Didactic 86197-10 VII

 Table of Contents

PROCEDURE ............................................................................... 138 

Setup and connections ....................................................... 138 
Plotting the position reference and position, the following
error, and the speed ........................................................... 139 

Appendix A  Glossary of New Terms ................................................ 147 

Appendix B  Conversion Table.......................................................... 151 

Appendix C  Equations ...................................................................... 153 

Equations from Exercise 2.................................................. 153 
Equations from Exercise 3.................................................. 154 
Equations from Exercise 4.................................................. 157 
Equations from Exercise 5.................................................. 158 
Analysis of step changes to reference speed .............. 158 
Steady state speed for a step disturbance .................. 159 
Transient response to a step disturbance .................... 161 
Equations from Exercise 6.................................................. 162 

Index................................................................................................................... 165 
Bibliography ....................................................................................................... 167 

VIII © Festo Didactic 86197-10

 Preface
A servomechanism is an automatic device that uses error-sensing feedback to
correct the error in the mechanism. A servo motor, which is a type of
servomechanism, is provided with a sensor (e.g., an incremental encoder, a
position potentiometer, a speed sensor) that compares the command (e.g., the
applied voltage) with the actual movement (e.g., the motor speed). Using a
controller and appropriate control strategies, the error existing between the
command and the actual movement can be determined, analyzed, and then
corrected.

Servo motors are used more and more because they give much more precision
and/or rapidity to the movements of a mechanical system. An industrial robot, for
example, usually contains many servo motors.

The Digital Servo Training System is a compact trainer designed to familiarize

students with the fundamentals of digital servo control. The system features a
single-axis, belt-driven positioning system, a digital servo controller, and powerful
software tools. Control of the motor can be achieved in several ways: using the
included hardware controller, LABVIEW or MATLAB/SIMULINK, or an optional
analog controller.

Open-source firmware and software controls are provided so the user can create
his own control strategies by modifying the existing ones or by developing new
ones. This open architecture also facilitates the addition of mechanical options to
the system.

The present manual, Digital Servo Motor Control, familiarizes students with the
internal characteristics of a servo motor. It also allows students to experiment
with different types of control loops and expand their knowledge of servo control.

We invite readers of this manual to send us their tips, feedback, and

suggestions for improving the book.

Please send these to did@de.festo.com.

The authors and Festo Didactic look forward to your comments.

© Festo Didactic 86197-10 IX

 To the Instructor
You will find in this Instructor Guide all the elements included in the Student
Manual together with the answers to all questions, results of measurements,
graphs, explanations, suggestions, and, in some cases, instructions to help you
guide the students through their learning process. All the information that applies
to you is placed between markers and appears in red.

Accuracy of measurements

The numerical results of the hands-on exercises may differ from one student to
another. For this reason, the results and answers given in this manual should be
considered as a guide. Students who correctly performed the exercises should
expect to demonstrate the principles involved and make observations and
measurements similar to those given as answers.

© Festo Didactic 86197-10 XI

 Sample Exercise
Extracted from
the Student Manual
and the Instructor Guide
 Exercise 4

Servo Closed Loop Speed Control – Steady State Characteristics

EXERCISE OBJECTIVE When you have completed this exercise, you will be familiar with servo operation
in closed loop speed control. You will know how to calculate and measure the
steady state speed of the Digital Servo in closed loop speed control for various
controller gains both theoretically and experimentally and be able to compare the
two.

DISCUSSION OUTLINE The Discussion of this exercise covers the following points:

 Components of the Digital Servo operating under closed loop speed

control 
 Sensor and power amplifier gain 

DISCUSSION Components of the Digital Servo operating under closed loop speed control

The Digital Servo closed loop speed-control system consists of the following.

 A dc brush-type servo motor

 A speed sensor, i.e., an incremental encoder directly coupled to the

motor shaft

 A system controller

 A human machine interface (HMI) used for setting the controller

parameters, function generator, and recorder functions

For brevity purposes, we Figure 23 shows the simplified block diagram of a servo motor closed loop
will now refer to the motor speed-control system with a first-order model (developed in Exercise 2). The
steady state speed con- controller is proportional only, which means that it has a constant gain term
stant as the general (proportional action is discussed in more detail in Exercise 9).
motor speed constant .

Controller
(%) (%)
1

Motor transfer function

Figure 23. Block diagram of a servo motor in closed loop speed-control mode.

The controller gain is the result of the PID controller three different gains: the
proportional gain , the integral gain and the derivative gain . In most

© Festo Didactic 86197-10 47

Exercise 4 – Servo Closed Loop Speed Control – Steady State Characteristics  Discussion

exercises in this manual, the controller gain is equivalent to the proportional

gain , as only proportional action is present in the system.

Analysis of the block diagram components in Figure 23 (see Appendix C for a

detailed analysis), shows that the steady state speed of the closed loop
system can be calculated as follows:

(26)
1

where is the motor steady state speed (controlled or process variable)

is the desired or reference motor speed (set point)
is the motor speed constant [(rad/s)/V]
is the controller gain (adjustable)

Equation (26) shows that, as the controller gain (proportional only) increases,
the ⁄ 1 ratio approaches 1. In other words, the higher the gain, the
more the motor steady state speed approaches the desired or reference
speed . The difference between the reference speed and the actual
speed ( ) is referred to as the error (or offset). Therefore, increasing the
proportional gain decreases the error. This means that, theoretically, the
proportional gain could be set to a very high value in order to minimize the error.
In practice, however, increasing the proportional gain destabilizes the servo
system and produces speed changes and oscillations. This is discussed in more
details in Exercise 5.

Sensor and power amplifier gain

In a real servo system implementation, the analysis must consider the gains of
both the servo system power amplifier and the speed sensor. The reference
speed for the servo system as well as the controlled variable speed is
often expressed in percentage, as is the case for the Digital Servo controller. The
conversion between percentage and speed must be taken into account and can
be seen as another gain term. All gain terms can then be grouped as one single
term by multiplying them together.

The following gain terms are determined for the Digital Servo:

 A 100% output from the controller output is equivalent to 48 V. The gain

for converting percentage output is thus 0.48 V/%.

 The power amplifier gain is of approximately 0.91. A 100% output from

the controller thus results in only 0.91 x 48 V being applied to the dc
motor. The power amplifier gain is due to the motor output electronic
design. This means that it cannot output more than 91% of its entry value
of 48 V dc.

 The conversion of rad/s to rpm can be represented as a gain term

of rpm/(rad/s).

 A 100% speed is equal for the Digital Servo to 3000 rpm. The gain term
for converting rpm to percentage is thus (1/30)%/rpm.

48 © Festo Didactic 86197-10

Exercise 4 – Servo Closed Loop Speed Control – Steady State Characteristics  Procedure Outline

The block diagram in Figure 24 shows all of these gain terms:

Power 100π rad/s =

Controller amplifier 3000 rpm
(%) 30 rpm 1/30 % (%)
0.48 V/% 0.91 V/V
1 rad/s rpm
100% output = 3000 rpm =
Motor transfer
48 V 100%
function

Figure 24. Block diagram of a servo motor in closed loop speed-control mode showing all gain
terms.

All the gain terms in Figure 24 can be grouped together as a total product of all
terms. In this case, the product is 0.139 V/(rad/s) (0.48 x 0.91 x 30/π x 1/30).
This gain will be referred to as a scaling factor. A block diagram that shows the
grouping of these gains is given in Figure 25.

Controller
(%) (%)
Scaling = 0.139
1

Motor transfer
function

Figure 25. Block diagram of a servo motor in closed loop speed-control mode showing the
simplified gain term.

From the above, it can be seen that for this particular system, Equation (26) has
to be modified to the following:

0.139 (27)
1 0.139

PROCEDURE OUTLINE The Procedure is divided into the following sections:

 Setup and connections 

 Closed loop speed-control measurements 

PROCEDURE Setup and connections

In this section, you will setup the Digital Servo for closed-loop speed-control
measurements.

1. Make the following settings on the Digital Servo system:

 Setup the servo system for speed control, i.e., disengage the
platform.

© Festo Didactic 86197-10 49

Exercise 4 – Servo Closed Loop Speed Control – Steady State Characteristics  Procedure

 Set the belt tension to allow the belt to be lifted of the pulley
connected to the motor shaft and slipped on the two pins to the rear
of the pulley, allowing the shaft to run uncoupled from the belt.

 Secure the flywheel to the shaft using the appropriate hex key.

2. Run LVServo, and click on the Device Controlled button in the Speed Loop
menu. Make sure the settings are initially as shown in Table 12:

Table 12. Settings for closed loop speed-control measurements.

Function Generator Trend Recorder

Signal Type Constant Reference Checked
Frequency 1 Hz Speed Checked
Amplitude 0% Current Unchecked
Offset 0% Voltage Checked
Power Off Error Unchecked
PID Controller x Error Unchecked
Gain ( ) 1 Error Sum / Unchecked
Integral Time ( ) Inf (Off) x Delta Error Unchecked
Derivative Time on E ( (E)) 0 PID Output Unchecked
Derivative Time on PV ( (PV)) 0 Display Type Sweep
Timebase 10 ms Show and Record Data On
Anti-Reset Windup On Measured Gain (rpm) 3000
Upper Limit 100% Measured Gain (A) 7
Lower Limit -100% Measured Gain (V) 48
Open or Closed Loop Closed
PV Speed Scaling
100% Value 3000 rpm

3. Set the function generator Power switch to ON.

50 © Festo Didactic 86197-10

Exercise 4 – Servo Closed Loop Speed Control – Steady State Characteristics  Procedure

Closed loop speed-control measurements

In this section, you will calculate the steady state speed and the speed
constant value of the motor operating under closed loop speed control for
various gains using Equation (27). You will then measure experimentally the
motor and values for various gains and compare the theoretical and
experimental results. You will eliminate the calculated error value by means of
integral action. Only proportional action will be used. The controller gain value is
thus equal to the proportional gain value and will be referred to as .

4. Slowly increase the offset value until the motor voltage reading reaches 40%,
which corresponds to a voltage of 19.2 V. Record the actual speed (rpm)
and the reference speed (%) in Table 13:

Table 13. Speed readings during closed loop speed-control measurements.

Steady
Steady
Speed/Voltage State
Gain Voltage Reference Speed Actual Speed Error State
Ratio Speed
Speed
Ratio
∆ =
= / /
-

% V % rad/s rpm rad/s % % (rad/s)/V %

1 40 19.2 81 254.5 1115 116.8 37.17 43.83 6.0814 0.4581 37.10

2 40 19.2 59 185.4 1115 116.8 37.17 21.83 6.0814 0.6283 37.07

3 40 19.2 52 163.4 1120 117.3 37.33 14.67 6.1087 0.7181 37.34

4 40 19.2 48 150.8 1114 116.7 37.13 10.87 6.0759 0.7716 37.04

5 40 19.2 46 144.5 1118 117.1 37.27 8.73 6.0977 0.8091 37.22

© Festo Didactic 86197-10 51

Exercise 4 – Servo Closed Loop Speed Control – Steady State Characteristics  Procedure

The following table shows the different measured parameters:

Speed readings during closed loop speed-control measurements.

Steady
Steady
Speed/Voltage State
Gain Voltage Reference Speed Actual Speed Error State
Ratio Speed
Speed
Ratio
∆ =
= / /
-

% V % rad/s rpm rad/s % % (rad/s)/V %

1 40 19.2 81 254.5 1115 116.8 37.17 43.83 6.0814 0.4581 37.10

2 40 19.2 59 185.4 1115 116.8 37.17 21.83 6.0814 0.6283 37.07

3 40 19.2 52 163.4 1120 117.3 37.33 14.67 6.1087 0.7181 37.34

4 40 19.2 48 150.8 1114 116.7 37.13 10.87 6.0759 0.7716 37.04

5 40 19.2 46 144.5 1118 117.1 37.27 8.73 6.0977 0.8091 37.22

5. Decrease the offset to 0%, increase the proportional gain to 2 and repeat
the previous operation. Do the same thing for values of 3, 4, and 5.

6. Fill out the rest of Table 13 using Table 14 as a quick reference for speed
unit conversion. Keep in mind the following while completing Table 13:

 is the ratio of speed to supply voltage and is calculated by

dividing the speed value in rad/s by the supply voltage (V).

 The error value is calculated by subtracting the speed value to the

reference speed .

 The steady state speed ratio / and speed value (%) are
calculated using Equation (27).

Table 14. Speed unit conversion quick reference.

Speed unit type Multiply by

rad/s
rpm ⟶ rad/s
30 rpm
30 rpm
rad/s ⟶ rpm
rad/s

% ⟶ rad/s rad/s

1
rad/s ⟶ %
rad/s

52 © Festo Didactic 86197-10

Exercise 4 – Servo Closed Loop Speed Control – Steady State Characteristics  Conclusion

7. Compare the calculated steady state speed with the measured steady state
speed.

The calculated and measured steady state speed values are very similar.

8. Describe what happens to the error as the proportional gain value

increases.

The error value decreases as the proportional gain value increases.

9. Set the proportional gain back to 1 and enter 0.1 s into the integral time .
Describe what happens to the error when integral action is introduced into
the controller.

When integral action is introduced in the controller, the error value is

eliminated.

CONCLUSION In this exercise, you familiarized yourself with servo system operation in closed
loop speed control. You learned how to calculate and measure the steady state
speed of the Digital Servo in closed loop speed control. You also learned to
calculate the error value between the reference speed and the actual speed and
how to minimize it by increasing the controller gain.

© Festo Didactic 86197-10 53

Exercise 4 – Servo Closed Loop Speed Control – Steady State Characteristics  Review Questions

REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Consider a dc motor system having a supply voltage of 35 V. The dc motor
system proportional gain is set to 3 and its steady state motor speed
is 1960 rpm. Find the motor system speed constant (steady state speed to
voltage ratio:

The motor system speed constant is calculated so:

rad/s
1960 rpm 205.3 rad/s
30 rpm

205.3 rad/s
5.87 rad/s/V
35 V

2. Given the same motor parameters as in question 1, find the motor reference
speed in rad/s, rpm, and percentage, as well as the steady state closed
loop system value ( ⁄ ).

205.3

0.139
0.71
1 0.139

205.3 rad/s
289.2 rad/s
0.71

30 rpm
289.2 rad/s 2761.3 rpm
rad/s

2761.3 rpm
100% 92%
3000

1960 rpm
0.71
2761.3 rpm

3. Given the same motor parameters as in question 1, find the system error
value in percentage.

The error is equal to:

1960 rpm
Error 92.0% 100% 26.7%
3000 rpm

54 © Festo Didactic 86197-10

Exercise 4 – Servo Closed Loop Speed Control – Steady State Characteristics  Review Questions

4. Given the same motor parameters as in question 1, calculate what happens

to the reference speed (rad/s, rpm, and percentage) when the
proportional gain value is set to 4, as well as the resulting steady state
closed loop system value ( ⁄ ).

205.3 rad/s

5.87 rad/s

0.139
0.765
1 0.139

205.3 rad/s
268.2 rad/s
0.765

30 rpm
268.2 rad/s 2561.5 rpm
rad/s

2561.5 rpm
100% 85.4%
3000 rpm

1960 rpm
0.765
2561.5 rpm

5. Given the same motor parameters as in question 4, find the system error
value in percentage.

The error is equal to:

1960 rpm
Error 85.4% 100% 24.8%
3000 rpm

6. Compare both calculated error values from question 3 and 5. Which one is
lower and why?

The calculated error value is lower in question 5. This is due to the fact that,
given the same motor parameters, a higher controller gain results in a steady
state closed loop system value ( ⁄ ) closer to 1 and thus, in a steady
state speed that is closer to the reference speed.

© Festo Didactic 86197-10 55

 Bibliography
BATESON, Robert N., Introduction to Control System Theory: 7th Edition, Upper
Saddle River, Prentice Hall, 2002.
ISBN 0-13-030688-6.

D’AZZO, John, HOUPIS, Constantine, SHELDON, Stuart, Linear Control System

Analysis and Design: 5th Edition, New York, CRC Press, 1995.
ISBN 0-8247-4038-6.

LIPTAK, Bela G., Instrument Engineers Handbook, Boca Raton, CRC Press,
2006.
ISBN 0-8493-1081-4.

NISE, Normand, Control Systems Engineering: 5th Edition, Hoboken, Wiley,

2007.
ISBN 0471-79475-2.

© Festo Didactic 86197-10 167